Ottawa, ON and Cleveland, OH–The Council of the Great Lakes Region (CGLR), a Canadian not-for-profit forum of business, government, academic, and non-profit leaders committed to working across sectors and the Canada-United States border to strengthen the bi-national Great Lakes region’s long-term competitiveness and sustainability, is pleased to announce that the following nominees have been elected to its Board of Directors following the organization’s virtual Annual General Meeting.
- Brian Ames, Chair of CGLR and former SVP, The Dow Chemical Company.
- David Ceolin, Partner, Innovation Grade Ventures.
- Brenda Drinkwalter, Corporate Director and former SVP Corporate Affairs, Canada and Latin America, and Global Privacy Coordinator, IMS Health.
- Peter S. Drummond, Founder, PSD+G Strategy Group and Adjunct Professor, Smith School of Business, Queen’s University.
- Heather Ferguson, SVP, Business Development, Strategy and Corporate Affairs, Ontario Power Generation.
- William Friedman, President and CEO, Port of Cleveland.
- Lorne Gorber, CEO advisor, Chief Communications Officer, and Reputation Management and Investor Relations Expert.
- Howard Learner, Executive Director, Environmental Law and Policy Center.
- Eric Lee, Founder, Copper Country Capital Consulting, and Global Electrification Mobility and EV Ecosystem Strategist and Commercialization Leader.
- Matthew McCurdy, CGLR Treasurer and Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers.
- Charles (Chuck) Peters, Managing Member, Altair Holdings LLC.
- Stephen J. Petras, Jr., Director, Cox International Law Center, Case Western Reserve University and U.S. National Director of the Canada – United States Law Institute.
- Marie-Hélène Sicard, Entrepreneur, YPO Board Member, and former EVP, Business & Industry, Sodexo North America.
- Nikki (Cassidy) Stone, EVP, Publicis Groupe.
- Jeffrey Weiss, CGLR Secretary and Partner, Steptoe & Johnson LLP.
- Patrick Whalen, President and CEO, Canadian/American Border Trade Alliance.
- John Wilkinson, Corporate Director and former Ontario Environment Minister.
- Wayne Garnons-Williams, Principal Director, Indigenous Sovereign Trade Consultancy Ltd. and Chair, International Inter-Tribal Trade and Investment Organization.
Concurrently, these individuals serve as the Board of Directors of the Ohio-based Council of the Great Lakes Region, a member-driven 501c6 trade association (CGLR USA). The Executive Committee of CGLR Canada and CGLR USA also serves as the Board of Directors of the Ohio-based CGLR Foundation, a 501c3 public charity.
CGLR Canada President and Chief Executive Officer, Mark Fisher commented: “The bi-national Great Lakes region, the largest freshwater system and sub-national regional economy in the world, is the centrepiece of the United States – Canada relationship and the engine of the North American economy, serving as vital hub of trade, manufacturing, higher education, R&D, food production, and so much more. The individuals appointed to CGLR Canada’s Board of Directors will help continue the organization’s growth and impact on a consolidated basis with CGLR USA and the CGLR Foundation, ensuring the region, as well the US-Canada relationship, can compete and win in a new world economy driven by sustainability as well as global trade, innovation, and labour mobility.”
